U.S. patent number 4,131,128 [Application Number 05/783,663] was granted by the patent office on 1978-12-26 for control valve.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Ernst Flitsch GmbH U. Co.. Invention is credited to Rudibert Gotzenberger.
United States Patent |
4,131,128 |
Gotzenberger |
December 26, 1978 |
Control valve
Abstract
A control valve particularly suitable for service in mechanical
refrigeration systems has a spherical valve body permanently
engaging an annular seal and is operated by turning the valve body
about an axis perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow through
the central opening in the valve seat. A circumferentially flaring
notch in the outer circumference of the valve member by-passes the
valve seat in the open angular position of the valve member and
communicates only with the inlet or the outlet of the valve in the
closed valve position.
Inventors: |
Gotzenberger; Rudibert
(Neckarrems, DE) |
Assignee: |
Ernst Flitsch GmbH U. Co.
(Fellbach, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
5974681 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/783,663 |
Filed: |
April 1, 1977 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
137/556;
251/129.12; 251/185; 251/209 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16K
5/10 (20130101); Y10T 137/8275 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
F16K
5/10 (20060101); F16K 5/00 (20060101); F16K
031/04 (); F16K 005/10 () |
Field of
Search: |
;251/209,185,208,134
;137/556,556.3 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Rosenthal; Arnold
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Berman; Hans
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A control valve comprising:
(a) a casing defining an inlet conduit, a chamber, and an outlet
conduit jointly constituting a flow path through said casing;
(b) an annular valve seat in said chamber formed with an opening
therethrough, said flow path extending through said opening in a
predetermined direction;
(c) a spherical valve member mounted in said cavity in movable
engagement with said valve seat;
(d) operating means for moving said valve member about an axis
transverse to said predetermined direction between two angularly
spaced positions.
(1) the spherical outer face of said valve member being formed with
a notch elongated in a plane perpendicular to said axis through the
center of said valve member,
(2) said notch flaring in the direction of elongation thereof,
(3) said notch in one of said positions of said valve member
communicating simultaneously with said inlet and outlet
conduits,
(4) said notch in the other position of said valve member
communicating with not more than one of said conduits; and
(e) yieldably resilient means in said cavity pressing said valve
member toward said valve seat, said yieldably resilient means
including,
(1) a pressure plate making contact with said circumference in said
one position of said valve member substantially in a point only,
and
(2) a spring interposed between said casing and said pressure
plate.
2. A valve as set forth in claim 1, wherein said notch is
symmetrical relative to said plane, said axis passing through said
center.
3. A valve as set forth in claim 1, wherein said operating means
include a stem journaled in said casing and fixedly fastened to
said valve member for joint angular movement about said axis,
biasing means biasing said stem and said valve member toward one of
said positions of the valve member, and electrically operated means
operatively connected to said stem for moving said valve member
into the other one of said positions thereof against the restraint
of said biasing means.
4. A valve as set forth in claim 3, wherein said electrically
operated means are located outside said casing.
5. A valve as set forth in claim 4, wherein said electrically
operated means include an electromagnet having a core, said stem
carrying an armature, said core and said armature defining a gap
therebetween, said gap being elongated circumferentially relative
to said axis and flaring in a longitudinal direction.
6. A valve as set forth in claim 1, further comprising cooperating
abutment means on said valve member and on said casing for
preventing angular movement of said valve member beyond said two
positions thereof.
7. A valve as set forth in claim 4, further comprising an arcuate
scale connected to said valve member in said casing for joint
angular movement about said axis, said casing having a transparent
wall portion, said scale being visible from outside said casing
through said wall portion.
8. A valve as set forth in claim 1, wherein said valve member has a
solid portion extending from said center in all directions over a
radius at least equal to the spacing of said notch from said
center.
9. A valve as set forth in claim 7, wherein said electrically
operated means include an armature mounted on said stem, said stem
and said armature being enclosed in said casing, and said
electrically operated means outside said casing include an
electromagnet having a core.
Description
This invention relates to control valves, and particularly to a
valve suitable for controlling the flow of liquids, vapors, and
their mixtures, as they occur in mechanical refrigeration
systems.
The relatively simple needle valves and cone valves available for
controlling refrigerant lines tend to cause vibrations and
cavitation in a liquid whose flow it is desired to control. The
known valves which avoid such shortcomings are relatively complex
and costly.
An important object of this invention is the provision of a simple
control valve suitable for controlling the flow of a fluid under
high pressure in precisely metered increments while avoiding the
shortcomings of other simple valves.
The valve of the invention basically is a ball valve whose
spherical valve member engages an annular valve seat in the valve
casing and is turned about an axis perpendicular to the direction
of fluid flow through the valve seat between two angular positions.
The valve member of the invention differs from that of conventional
ball valves by having a solid center and being formed with a
circumferentially elongated notch in a plane through the center
perpendicular to the afore-mentioned axis. In one of the angular
positions of the valve member, the notch simultaneously
communicates with the inlet and outlet conduits of the casing. In
the other angular position of the valve member, the notch
communicates with not more than one of the conduits, and the valve
is closed.
Other features, additional objects, and many of the attendant
advantages of this invention will readily be appreciated as the
same becomes better understood by reference to the following
detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in
connection with the appended drawing in which:
FIG. 1 shows a valve of the invention in elevational section;
FIG. 2 illustrates the valve in section on the line II--II;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the same valve taken on the line
III--III in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 shows the spherical valve member of the valve and an
associated pressure plate in section on the line IV--IV in FIG.
1.
The body portion 1 of the casing is a metal casting integral with
an externally threaded inlet nipple 2 and an outlet nipple 3,
externally and internally threaded and coaxial with the inlet
nipple 2. The central cavity of the casing body 1 has a side window
4 sealed by a heavy sight glass 5. The open top of the casing
cavity is sealed by a flanged cover 6 of austenitic stainless steel
or other non-magnetic material which has the shape of an inverted
cup.
A sleeve 7 is threadedly received in the outlet nipple 3, and its
enlarged end portion in the central casing cavity provides an
annular valve seat for a spherical valve member or ball 8. The ball
8 is held in sealing engagement with the valve seat on the sleeve 7
by a flat pressure plate 10 biased into point contact with the
spherical outer surface of the ball 8 by a spring clip 9 abuttingly
retained in the inner orifice of the inlet nipple 2.
The ball 8 may be turned by means of a fixedly attached stem 11
about an axis which intersects the common axis of the nipples 2, 3
and of the sleeve 7 at right angles in the geometrical center of
the ball 8. The otherwise continuously spherical, outer face of the
ball 8 is formed with a notch 81 elongated in a plane perpendicular
to the axis of the stem 11 through the ball center. In the open
position of the valve, the notch 81 has a narrow and shallow
longitudinal end communicating with the outlet nipple 3. It flares
longitudinally both in its width and its depth, and its other end
communicates with the central cavity of the casing body 1 and the
inlet nipple 2. The notch 81 is symmetrical relative to the
afore-mentioned perpendicular plane and extends about an
approximate arc of 90.degree. of the ball circumference.
The stem 11 is journaled in a central sleeve portion of a disk 12
having a circumferential flange axially directed toward the ball 8.
It envelops an axial flange of another disk 13, spacedly parallel
to the disk 12 and passed by the stem 11. The disks 12, 13 thus
form a flat cylindrical box packed with asbestos fibers which
filter particulate solids from the fluid controlled by the valve
and prevent contamination of the bearing for the stem 11 in the
sleeve portion of the disk 12. The box 12, 13 is fixedly secured in
the casing body 1 by a tight friction fit.
An armature 20 of mild steel is mounted on the portion of the stem
11 which extends into the cover 6 and is embedded in a cylindrical
body 14 of plastic rotatably engaged by the cover 6. Two axial,
eccentric pins 15 fixedly fastened on the disk 12 project into
respective grooves of the plastic body 14. As is best seen in FIG.
3, the grooves each extend in an arc of about 90.degree. about the
axis of the stem 11, and the angular, joint movement of the plastic
body 14, the armature 20, the stem 11, and the ball 8 is limited by
abutting engagement of the pins 15 with the transverse end walls of
the grooves.
A plate 16 has an integral, central hub portion frictionally
secured on the stem 11 between the ball 8 and the box 12,13. A
circumferential, depending skirt portion of the plate 16 carries a
row of embossed indicia 16' of which only one is visible in FIG. 2.
The indicia may be viewed through the sight glass 5 and give a
precise indication of the angular position of the ball 8 and of the
effective flow section of the notch 81.
The ball 8 may be turned by means of an electromagnet of which only
the lamellar core 17 is shown in the drawing. The energizing wire
windings enveloping one pole of the magnet core have been omitted
in order not to crowd the drawing. A gap 18 between the cylindrical
circumference of the cover 6 (FIG. 3) and the one magnet pole
normally carrying the windings or coil of the magnet decreases in
width from one circumferential end to the other so that the stem 11
is turned in one direction only when the magnet is energized in a
conventional manner, not shown. When the current flow to the magnet
is interrupted, the ball 8 is returned to its initial angular
position by a spiral spring 19 of non-magnetic phosphor bronze wire
whose ends are fastened to the stem 11 and the inner face of the
cover 6 respectively. Depending on the intended application, the
spring 19 may bias the ball 8 and the stem 11 toward the open or
closed valve position, the other valve position being reached by
energizing the electromagnet which overcomes the restraint of the
spring 19 omitted from FIG. 2 for the sake of clarity.
The illustrated valve is capable of many modifications which will
readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. While a
single notch 81 is preferred and adequate for refrigeration
service, two diametrically opposite notches may be provided as long
as the ball 8 has a solid portion extending from the geometrical
center of the ball in all directions over a radius at least equal
to the spacing of the illustrated notch 81 from the ball
center.
The spring 19 may be replaced by a permanent magnet mounted on the
stem 11 in the plastic body 14. The permanent magnet (not shown)
may be positioned in an obvious manner to return the ball 8 to its
starting position after deflection by the electromagnet.
The energizing circuit of the partly illustrated electromagnet has
not been shown since it may be entirely conventional. It may
include temperature responsive elements which control the current
flowing through the non-illustrated coil of the electromagnet in
response to changes in the temperature of a refrigerated space or
object.
It should be understood, therefore, that the foregoing disclosure
relates only to a preferred embodiment, and that it is intended to
cover all changes and variations in the example of the invention
herein chosen for the purpose of the disclosure which do not
constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *